Abstract:

Schools in the United States are often the first point of contact for children from immigrant families as they acculturate into American society (Stuff & Brogadir, 2011). Many US schools face a major influx of English Learners (ELs), who often encounter stressors, such as loss of identity, discrimination, and the conflicts of values and beliefs (Escobar & Vega, 2000). Parents and families play an important role for children during schooling transition for both ELs and native speakers. Parent/family involvement is essential to students’ academic success (Díaz-Rico, 2013; Fields-Smith, 2005). Parents provide their children with emotional, cultural and social supports, and hence, teachers are encouraged to ensure that parents are their allies in the task of teaching (Rohr & He, 2010). Teachers need to be aware that parents and families from diverse backgrounds often face obstacles, such as language barriers and deficit views of families (Díaz-Rico, 2012). The connection between culture and learning is critical. This is particularly imperative for teachers who are predominantly white and have limited experiences collaborating with parents of ELs in high population of ELs community. The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences of how parents interact with their children in high population of EL community.

Three research questions guided this research:
1. What are the similarities and difference between parents of ELs and native speakers in helping their child with school work?
2. What are the similarities and difference between parents of ELs and native speakers in spending time with their child?
3. What are the similarities and difference between parents of ELs and native speakers in getting help for their child’s education?

The data was collected by a U. S. federal funded teacher professional development project to train in-service teacher to be culturally responsive to teach diverse students in high population of ELs schools. Eighty (80) participants completed the one-page, hard-copy Family Survey on a school hosted family event. 38 (47%) were native English speakers and 42 (53%) were English Language Learners (ELs). For parents who do not know English, survey was translated into their native languages. Preliminary analysis results indicated that parents of ELs were less involved in helping their child to do their homework, read less to their child, and tried more extra learning materials for their child from online resources than parents of native speakers. On the other hand, more parents of ELs reported higher frequency of monitoring their child daily to make sure they do homework at home, playing sports with their child, and asking for help at the international institute than parents of native English speakers.

To know these interaction differences between parents of ELs and native English speakers carries practical implications for content relevant design of teacher professional development. Teachers must recognize the different linguistic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds of students; moreover, they must view such differences as assets.

This presentation will demonstrate the value of culturally responsive practices to increase participation and engagement for the EL student and their families. A broad look at culture will frame thinking about issues to consider when interacting with EL students and families.

Keywords:

ELs, Parent involvement, culturally responsive instruction.